Well, as I write this post, Tent Sale 2007 is just winding down to a close. WOW! What a weekend! It was truly incredible. Yesterday the weather was chilly and a bit ominous. Steve was worried there wouldn’t be a good turnout. I reassured them you would come. And did you ever! Yesterday was the biggest tent sale Saturday ever! Nobody cared it was chilly, nobody cared it was damp. The day actually improved as it went on, although the temp didn’t move very far.

We started out the day with our first ever, live broadcast of Ready, Set, Knit! We normally record during the week and the show airs on Saturday morning here locally and then it’s up to podcast-land. I thought it would be fun to go live and give everyone a real feel for the event. I know the radio folks were way more stressed than Steve and I were. It wasn’t even that we would slip and use some terrible language or say something completely politically/socially incorrect. I think they were most worried that we wouldn’t have the timing right. In recording the show, they can always do some “editing” if we are grossly off on the time, which we’ve never really been. But with live radio, you’ve got to hit the mark. And we did! It was so much fun! I think my years as a gymnast & figure skater, back in the day paid off. I may not have been good enough for larger-than-life glory, but both sports instilled a strong sense of timing. You had to end when the music ended in skating and floor exercise. Balance beam and bars had time restraints as well. Here’s a snapshot of the set-up:

Our thanks to Julia, Scooter and Jimmy who all got up really early on a crummy Saturday morning to pull this off for us!

And the tent as we kicked-off:

I heard at one point that it was easier to get from one side of the store to our office area on the other side of the building, by going outside.

We were also holding our annual Fleece Market. We had 9 or 10 vendors this year. One brought a bottle fed lamb that was sold during the day. We love this part of this event – it’s so awesome to give our local shepherd’s another venue to showcase their beautiful fleeces, rovings and yarns.

I think a discovery of mine during the late morning hours, really summed up the day for me, the staff and anyone around who knows me:

These are my feet. I left the house sans socks – I pretty much refuse to wear closed-toe footwear after May 1st. I don’t care what the fashionistas say, this is my rule and I’m stickin’ with it. I realized before the radio broadcast that a day like yesterday was not one to challenge with naked toes, so I grabbed these samples that were destined for the sale bin. I not only left the house with mismatched sandals, I put the socks on without realizing I had mismatched sandals. It wasn’t until I was in conversation with a couple of people about my sock/sandal combo later in the morning, that I realized what I had done. Now, I am usually a pretty pulled-together gal, at least on the outside. Everyone thought this was most fitting on a day like yesterday.

Quote of the day – in the tent, shortly after opening:

Woman on cell phone: “hello? oh hi! Guess where I am? The WEBS Tent Sale! I don’t see you here, so I guess you’re not coming? Well, that’s just too bad for you. I’ve got to go and shop” Bye!”

We saw lots of old friends and made many new ones as well. Congratulations to the woman from Ohio who travelled to come to the sale. I believe you came the farthest. If someone reading knows this not to be true, knows someone who came further than Ohio for the sale, please let me know!

I also wanted to something I saw along the way to a meeting last week in the far reaching corner of Western Massachussetts:

Yes, these two signs represent the same stretch of road. This coupled with my mismatched footwear really sums up the last couple of weeks.

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Well, this doesn’t count, but: my mom came from Iowa and went to the Tent Sale! (It doesn’t count because she didn’t come for the sale, but was travelling through town on her way to Canada for the summer. She just had really good timing…and spent over $200.)

I came from Philadelphia. Of course i was on my way from my old roommate in Lenox to my sister in New Hampshire, but the timing and actual occurence of a long promised visit just might have had to do with your tent sale. I had a lovely day and way over indulged, but I wanted to say thank you to you and all your staff who even at the end of the day helped me find yarns with an incredibly gracious attitude.

Congratulations on having such an amazing tent sale in spite of the weather. Although I’m in California & can’t attend each year, I feel fortunate that I saw you at Stitches West and that your online store is so wonderful!

Thanks also for having such an interesting podcast. I just purchased the EZ Baby Surprise pattern from your online store and was wondering how I can get a copy on the spreadsheet you had discussed on your last podcast.